Oppose Keystone, green groups implore Hillary Clinton

A coalition of 30 environmental and progressive groups is looking for a new ally in its fight against the Keystone XL pipeline: Hillary Clinton.

“Secretary Clinton, will you stand with us against Keystone XL?” the groups wrote in a letter to the former secretary of State, set to be released Wednesday. “Given your longstanding advocacy for the environment and the importance of battling the climate crisis, your involvement would lend an important voice to the struggle against this dangerous pipeline and in favor of energy sources that don’t threaten future generations of Americans.”

Text Size

Top officials at Friends of the Earth, 350.org, the Center for Biological Diversity and Greenpeace signed onto the letter. But none of the biggest and most powerful environmental groups did, including the Sierra Club and the League of Conservation Voters — organizations that typically aid Democratic campaigns and would be poised to become powerful allies of Clinton if she runs for president in 2016.

The absence of the big green groups’ participation could be a sign that they’re not yet prepared to take on Clinton over the pipeline.

As secretary from 2009 to 2013, Clinton headed a department that repeatedly produced environmental studies finding few ecological objections to building the proposed Alberta-to-Texas oil pipeline.

But she hasn’t spoken about her own views on the project, save for one big exception: In October 2010, she said during off-the-cuff remarks at a San Francisco speaking engagement that she was “inclined” to green-light the project. The comment infuriated environmentalists.

If she runs for the White House, Clinton will face enormous pressure from liberals and wealthy donors like Tom Steyer to renounce the pipeline. But she would have to balance that pressure with the reality that the project has the support of the majority of the public, according to polls. Her husband, former President Bill Clinton, also once indicated he favors the pipeline, during remarks in February 2012 that Keystone supporters still quote in television ads.